Missing selection for the 2014 Track World Championships left
Rebecca Wiasak devastated, when she was the final rider cut
from the team. The situation repeated itself for the
Commonwealth Games, when she again missed selection. "It was
tough, but the reality of elite sport," said Wiasak. "I had
other events to train for however, so moved my focus to that
and achieved some great results on the road during the latter
rounds of the National Road Series." With 2014 behind her
Wiasak has finally achieved her goal of making the Australian
team for a World Championships.

Wiasak's first appearance at a World Cup came in January 2013
in Aguascalientes. Since then Wiasak competed in six World
cups in a row up to London in December 2014. Earning medals
across the individual and team pursuit including gold in the
IP in Aguascalientes in 2014.

An impressive performance at the Australian Championships in
January saw Wiasak claim silver in the individual pursuit
behind Amy Cure. A performance Wiasak puts down to not having
ridden the final World Cup of the season in Cali, Colombia.
"In 2013 and 2014 I had flown back from Mexico and was unable
to produce the same results I had at the World Cups."

Below Wiasak talks her 2014/15 season, selection
disappointments and the 2015 World Championships.

PelotonWatch: You have made a name for
yourself on the track in the individual pursuit. What do you
like most about the event?

Rebecca Wiasak: I love the individual
pursuit. I started life as a track runner and was best over
800m and 1500m. I think I learnt how to pace myself and built
up a good lactic tolerance during years of training for those
middle distance running events. Interestingly my best times
for those distances were 2min 13sec and 4min 33sec
respectively and the individual pursuit falls between those. I
love that everything in an individual pursuit can be measured
– gears, cadence, times. In qualifying it's just you against
the clock and then in the final you're racing for medals,
which also tests your mental strength.

PW: Bronze in the IP at Aguascalientes at the
end of the 2012/13 World Cup season. Then silver in Manchester
before winning gold back in Aguascalientes in 2013/14. With
those IP performances you burst on to the world stage. Was
this a bit of a turning point in your cycling career?

RW: Each of those performances gave me
confidence, and are each so memorable. I believed that if my
cycling career ended tomorrow I would be happy knowing that I
am a World Cup gold medallist. I was so emotional standing on
the dais receiving my gold medal and singing the national
anthem in Aguascalientes. It was an incredible feeling. Of
course I have more ambitious goals now and know I can compete
with the best in the world.

PW: You were the overall IP winner in the
2013/14 World Cup season. The IP was removed from the World
Cup programme for this season what are your thoughts on this?

RW: I was disappointed that the individual
pursuit was removed from the World Cup program, as there are
fewer opportunities to race it during the season, however I
understand the decision. The individual pursuit is not an
Olympic event so our focus is purely on the team pursuit, and
it is nice to travel to a World Cup and only think about the
one event. There are now three rounds for the team pursuit so
it is still a big program.

PW: You just missed selection in the team for
the Track World Championships in 2014. It was the same
situation with the Commonwealth Games. How disappointing was
it and how did you deal with it and remain motivated?

RW: I was devastated when I was sent home
from our World Championships training camp in 2014. I was the
last rider to be cut from the squad and I thought that I had
done enough throughout the season to earn a spot. I raced the
team pursuit at all three World Cups last season winning
bronze at each meet, was part of the team that set the then
Australian Record in Aguascalientes, and had won a World Cup
gold medal in the individual pursuit. That disappointment
definitely motivated me throughout this season. I was also the
last rider cut from the Commonwealth Games squad, which was
tough, but the reality of elite sport. I had other events to
train for however, so moved my focus to that and achieved some
great results on the road during the latter rounds of the
National Road Series.

PW: You claimed silver in the IP at Oceania
Championships in October happy with your early season form?

RW: I moved to Adelaide in late August last year so my focus
has been solely on the track. It makes a huge difference being
based at the Adelaide Superdrome with the High Performance
Program, compared to the facilities we have available in
Canberra and Sydney. I was happy with my early season form but
was also happy with my form at the two World Cups I raced in
Guadalajara and London, and then again at the National Track
Championships.

PW: Then followed that up with silver in the
IP at the Australian Championships at the end of January. What
did this result mean to you?

RW: I had been quite fatigued at the past two Australian Track
Championships having recently returned to Australia following
the third World Cup. In 2013 and 2014 I had flown back from
Mexico and was unable to produce the same results I had at the
World Cups. It is a long trip and I only had one week to
recover from the travel. This year I was based in Adelaide for
all of January and was able to freshen up for the Australian
Championships. It was my best ever result at a national
championships and my best time in the event at sea level. The
performance has given me a lot of confidence ahead of the
World Championships this week.

PW: Selected for World Championships this
month how did you feel when you were told the news?

RW: It was a bittersweet feeling when I was told I would be
going to the World Championships. Naturally, I was pretty
excited but it was tough seeing one of your teammates sent
home. I was in that same position last year and it is
heartbreaking when you have dedicated so much time to a goal
and then get told it's all over. I wasn't able to tell too
many people after the final selection was made, so it wasn't
until the team got announced and I saw my name on the media
release that I actually realised the extent of my achievement
and got a bit more excited.

PW: Heading in to the World Championships
what are you hoping to achieve there?

RW: I hope to race both the individual pursuit and team
pursuit at the World Championships. We have five riders in
form here in Paris and only four will get to line-up in each
round of the team pursuit. The team pursuit is on the first
two days of competition and is our primary focus. We have been
dreaming of wearing rainbows and have a real opportunity to
achieve that this week.

Rebecca Wiasak on route to silver at the Australian National
Championships